Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The John Burroughs Association publicly recognizes well-written and illustrated natural history publications. Each year the Burroughs medal (shown at left) is awarded to the author of a distinguished book of natural history, with the presentation made during the Association's annual meeting on the first Monday of April.

The following list presents all of the Burroughs Medal winners to date. Asterisked books are in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History Library. Note: the medal was not awarded 1931, 1935, 1937, 1944, 1947, 1951, 1959, 1975, and 1980.

Mahfouz, Naguib. The Thief and the Dogs (Egypt)
Quayd, Muhammad Yusuf. War in the Land of Egypt (Egypt)
Aswany, Alaa Al. The Yacoubian Building (Egypt)
Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Japan)
Fuentes, Carlos. The Death of Artemio Cruz (Mexico)

Past winnersE.M. Forster AwardForeign Honorary Member E.M. Forster (1879-1970) bequeathed the American publication rights and royalties of his posthumous novel Maurice to Academician Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986), who transferred them to the Academy for the establishment of an award, now $15,000, to be given to a young English writer for a stay in the United States.

Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro and Terminal Mind by David Walton were co-winners of the Philip K. Dick Award, presented annually for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the U.S. Results were announced at Norwescon 32, in SeaTac, Wash. The 2009 judges wre Daniel Abraham (chair), Eileen Gunn, Karen Hellekson, Elaine Isaak, and Marc Laidlaw.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Margaret Atwood, Peter C. Newman and Kenneth Whyte are among finalists for this year's

Canadian National Business Book Award Finalist (2009)

Atwood is up for Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth (CBC Massey Lecture). Better known for her works of fiction than books about business, Atwood is "an intelligent outsider who seams together patterns and facts that provide context to the current crisis and where it slots into the human experience," said a statement from prize organizers.

Newman is shortlisted for Izzy: The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada's Media Mogul. The book profiles the entrepreneur who founded CanWest Global Communications Corp.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Milkweed has restructured the prize: in the past we have solicited manuscripts specifically for the contest, but for all future contests, Milkweed Editions will award the National Fiction Prize to the best work of fiction Milkweed accepts for publication during each calendar year by a writer not previously published by Milkweed Editions. Submission directly to the contest is no longer necessary. Since we will now be choosing the winner from the manuscripts we accept for publication during a given year, all manuscripts submitted to Milkweed will automatically be considered for the prize. Judging will be by Milkweed Editions editors, and the winner of the prize will receive a $5,000 cash advance as part of any royalties agreed upon in the contractual arrangement negotiated at the time of acceptance.

The Milkweed Prize Milkweed Editions periodically awards two prizes for fiction writing: the Milkweed National Fiction Prize and the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature. The prizes are awarded for the best general fiction and for the best fiction for middle-grade readers, ages 8 to 13, by a writer not previously published by Milkweed. The prizes for 2008 will be cash advances against royalties in the amounts of $5,000 for fiction and $10,000 for children’s literature.

Milkweed National Fiction Prize

Milkweed seeks manuscripts of high literary quality that embody humane values and contribute to cultural understanding for the National Fiction Prize

The goal of the Prize for Children's Literature is to encourage both writers of children’s literature and writers of books for adults to turn their attention to creating books for this discriminating and important group of readers. At this age, readers are ready for well-written books that range widely in subject matter, from fantasy, to fiction grounded in history, to books about everyday life.